Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Stock Price Up 1.4% – Here’s What Happened

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) shot up 1.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $113.86 and last traded at $113.10. 18,315,389 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 30% from the average session volume of 26,074,246 shares. The stock had previously closed at $111.54.

Walmart News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s broad price cuts on food and seasonal items are being viewed as a traffic-driving move that could help it win more grocery share and support sales momentum. Walmart stock gains after price cuts as analysts back grocery strategy
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary from Jim Cramer calling the recent selloff an “incredible buying opportunity” is adding to the bullish tone around the stock. Jim Cramer calls Walmart selloff an ‘incredible buying opportunity,’ says fears ‘have gone out the window’
• Positive Sentiment: Several pieces frame Walmart as a high-quality blue-chip retailer with resilient revenue trends, which can attract investors seeking safety in volatile markets. 3 Blue-Chip Retail Stocks to Trust as Volatility Favors Quality
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparisons of Walmart and Target’s revenue consistency and scale reinforce Walmart’s strong operating model, but do not appear to add a new catalyst by themselves. Walmart and Target: Comparing Revenue Consistency and Scale
• Neutral Sentiment: Ongoing political attention around price cuts, including praise from President Trump, is boosting visibility for the stock, though it is not clear that it changes fundamentals on its own. President Trump says Walmart will lower prices by ‘a lot’ — but the retail beast has already been slashing prices
• Negative Sentiment: Legal headlines are a modest overhang: Walmart settled a Texas driver-pay case and now faces a new California AI-related class action, which could add reputational and legal costs. Walmart (WMT) Pays $13 Million To Settle Driver Pay Case As New AI Suit Lands
• Negative Sentiment: Some recent commentary notes that the stock has pulled back from its highs, reflecting lingering concern about whether aggressive discounting can keep supporting margin performance. It’s Grocery Wars. Walmart Cuts Food Prices, but Shoppers Are Fed Up.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WMT. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 target price (up from $150.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 29th. Truist Financial set a $140.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, June 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.85.

Walmart Stock Up 1.4%

The business’s 50 day moving average is $121.36 and its 200 day moving average is $122.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $900.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.60.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.66. Walmart had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 21.25%. The company had revenue of $177.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.61 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.720-0.740 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,775 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.64, for a total transaction of $413,891.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 630,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,074,186.76. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total value of $2,303,320.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,174,579 shares in the company, valued at $495,230,306.77. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 104,505 shares of company stock worth $12,858,514. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. MFA Wealth Services boosted its position in Walmart by 0.7% during the first quarter. MFA Wealth Services now owns 10,909 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,356,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Realta Investment Advisors increased its position in Walmart by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 4,089 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Compton Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Compton Financial Group LLC now owns 2,081 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Group LLC now owns 9,636 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Calton & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. now owns 27,220 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,033,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

About Walmart

Walmart is a multinational retail corporation that operates a broad portfolio of store formats and digital services. Its core business includes large-format supercenters, discount department stores, neighborhood grocery stores and a membership warehouse chain, Sam’s Club. The company’s merchandising mix covers groceries, household goods, apparel, electronics and pharmacy services, supplemented by private-label products and category-specific offerings. Walmart pairs its physical store network with online platforms and mobile applications to provide omnichannel shopping, fulfillment and delivery options for consumers and businesses.

The company was founded by Sam Walton, who opened the first store in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962; it is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas.